The bear shifter didn’t move as we left the cell. The witches lining the hallway moved to place their fists over their hearts when we exited, bowing their heads as a sign of respect.
When the door to the cell closed, the runes and charms etched into the metal took on a soft glow before settling into the door, trapping the male inside.
“I refuse to let her stay in that fucking hellhole a minute longer,” Elias growled, turning on me. The presence of his wolf shone through his green eyes, but he somehow maintained control. “We need a plan of actionnow.We can figure out the runes later. All we need is Ivy.”
“Don’t think we aren’t on the same page,” Maeve said, her accent thick with barely hidden anger. “Archer and I both want our mate back. But we must think logically. We cannot risk Ivy’s life, but we also can’t allow her vision to come true.”
“The only vision coming true right now ishis,” the wolf hissed. “Come on?—”
“We are no use to her captured,” the demon king interjected. “But I can also admit that I hate waiting. I do not like the idea of her being with him any longer.”
“She’s not the only one we need to get out. If we leave without her other mates, then we’re in for a hell of a lot of trouble, especially if Dante decides to use them against her,” Maeve said, taking a step back. I drew in a deep breath, sulphuric burning my lungs, but it was better than the anger. Thefear. “We need a plan to get themallout.”
Elias scrubbed a hand down his face. The battle in his mind was clear, the fight he was having with his wolf playing out in his eyes. I felt it within myself, too.
“My mother is hiding something from Dante. He said it himself.” A lump formed in my throat, one I couldn’t push down. “That might be the only thing keeping Ivy alive right now.”
“You sure you think the blood moon is when he’s going to get her power?” Elias asked, turning to me.
I froze, heart pounding, uncertainty coiling deep in my gut. “Maybe,” I replied quietly. “We can’t know?—”
Before I could finish, Elias turned on his heel and pushed open Cyrus’s door. “What do you know about the blood moon in Avalon?”
I couldn’t see the shifter, but there was a pause. “Used to hear whispers. A Luna Fae—not Black, but another—used to track the cycles for Dante. Timed them for when your girl was meant to be coming here. He’s been planning this for a long, long time.”
Sickness curdled deep in my stomach as Elias slammed the door and turned back to us, the colour drained from his face. “When’s our next lunar eclipse? We can’t wait.”
“Three weeks,” Rhadamanthus said darkly. “We have less than that to rescue her.”
16
Maeve
It felt like nothing we did would ever amount to the steps Dante had taken to launch his attack. Even with Cyrus in our hold, even though he himself likely held a wealth of answers to our burning questions, it would never be enough.
Nothing would, when Dante had already considered every angle.
We should never have underestimated Dante. The arrogant, deranged male knew what he’d been doing at every step, every stage of his plan. There was no doubt about it now, not when Cyrus all but confirmed Dante had been working on this for years. A century at best. Longer.
He’d planned Ivy’s return. Ensured she was found exactly when he needed her. Not just for a simple eclipse, butthelunar eclipse.
We’d walked right into his hands, given her to him without even realising it.
I paced the length of the dungeon, rage building swiftly inside of me. Bloodlust coiled deep in my chest, a hunger so deafening it pounded in my ears.
What I wanted, more than anything, was to enter one of these cells and tear someone apart.
But there was only one worth my energy. Worthy of my rage.
I stormed into Hyperion’s cell, locking eyes on the pathetic male. As soon as the door slammed behind me, he startled awake. Dried blood covered his chin from our last time together, and several of his teeth—which I’d initially knocked down his throat and made him swallow—now lay in a pool of blood-tinged vomit at his feet. The other wounds were starting to heal, albeit slowly, though as I scented the air, I could tell some were starting to fester from the state of the cell.
Bleary silver eyes landed on me. As hard as he tried, he couldn’t hide his fear from me. Over the stench of his blood and vomit, I couldsmellit. Taste it, even. And the bloodlust enjoyed it far too much.
“Good,” I purred, stopping in front of him, the heel of my boot destroying one of his molars. “You’re awake.”
A slight shiver wracked his body as he tried to straighten. “Nothing I say will get through, and you know it,” he seethed, baring what little teeth he had left. “You might as well?—”
I slammed my fist into his nose, knocking his head back. The scent of fresh blood almost made me vibrate with the need to spill more. “Shut up,” I said, watching him bow his head and spit blood onto my boot. “I have it in good authority that killing you could give me every little detail I need.”
